Shrek, Zelda style
by Anime Wildfire
Summary: Link is a lone Hylian, misunderstood by humans. Zelda is a human princess, waiting for the day she will be rescued by her true love. But when Link is forced to rescue her, things get a little haywire. Shrek Zelda style, LinkxZelda
1. once upon a time

**Alright, this is my newest story. I've already got chapter 2 typed as well as most of chapter three, but I meant take a bit of time due to a writers block on some of the chatacters. But over all everything's ok.**

**the next chapter of Link's hardships will be up soon as well, I've been having a bit of a writers block and have been rewriting sone of the later chapters I had written out. A life of Destiny will hopefully be done soon and I'm almost finished with the next chapter if thoughts of a hero, I've just been having some computer problems that makes it even worse.**

**I feel much better, now on with the story!**

Summery- Shrek Zelda style. Link is a lone Hylian, misunderstood by humans. Zelda is a human princess, waiting for the day she will be rescued by her true love. But when Link is forced to rescue her, things get a little haywire. LinkxZelda

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_Once up a time, there was a lovely princess. But she had an enchantment upon her of a fearful sort. Which could only be broken by love's first kiss._

_She was locked away in a castle, which was guarded by a terrible dragon._

_Many brave men had attempted to free her from this dreadful prison, but none prevaled._

_She waited in the dragon's keep, in the highest room of the tallest tower, for her true love and true love's first kiss._

Yeah right, like that will ever happen.

I don't know why humans hated us, maybe it's because we can use magic. I don't know for sure. But the fact is, humans hate us Hylians, and yet, here I am. A lone Hylian living amungst humans.

The fact is, humans and Hylians used to get along, we Hylians were the only ones living in Hyrule at this time. Then the humans showed up, and everyone got along peacefully. I don't know what happened exactely, but I heard that it was a human prince who fell in love with a Hylian woman, but she didn't love him back. Enraged, the prince spread rumors about how evil we Hylians are. Eventually, the next generations believed. That's what I believe happened, but like I said, I don't know for sure.

Maybe humans hate us for our appearance, even though we look a lot like them. Hylians are only about a foot taller than the average human, give or take an inch or two. The average human is about 5" 7', the average Hylian is about 6" 6'. Another thing is we have different ears, ours being pointy and long and humans being short and round. Humans can't use magic either, that could be one of their causes of jealousy. And even though humans have hated us, we Hylians have remained peaceful and friendly. Most the Hylians have moved on by now, but not me.

Who am I you ask? I'm last last Hylian in Hyrule. My name is Link, and I have no intention of leaving Hyrule. Ever.

This is my story.

**I know I know, this is a little different from the movie, I just couldn't imagine Link as ugly, so I had to come up with something else. Trust me, it's physically impossible to imagine Link ugly.**

**Please review! And let me know if you're confused about anything!**

**Anime Wildfire**


	2. The life of Link

**Sorry this chapter is a bit short everyone, I won't be able to update for a few days so I decided to post this now. Thanks for all the reviews everyone! And as a response to BlueIrish's comment, yes, I will have little things in the story that are way different or way similar. **

**Well, enjoy the chapter! Review please!**

**Chapter 2, The life of Link.**

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Deep in the woods of Hyrule, surrounded by trees so ancient and tall they loomed over the entire forest, a lone tree house stood. There was a village a few miles away from the tree house, but this was a very special house. It belonged to the last Hylian in Hyrule.

"Come on you stupid thing! Move!" the young Hylian man was currently standing next to the house, a rope in his hand.

Link groaned, his house was just not cooperating today. A recent storm had ripped one of the walls off his house, resulting in Link having to spend the entire day fixing the wall.

Link had fixed it so that by pulling a rope, the replacement wall he had built would be pulled up into place. Unfortunately, the wall wasn't cooperating too well.

Gritting his teeth, Link pulled harder on the rope, hoping to get it unstuck. Finally, after ten minutes, the wall jerked a bit and began to move. Link sighed in relief and hulled the wall up, tying the rope to a tree to keep the wall in place before climbing up the ladder and hammering the wall in place.

"Finally, I'm done." Link said. He dropped his hammer on the ground and left his house, sliding down the ladder and landing next to the spring that surrounded his house. Pulling his tunic off and tossing it to the side, he jumped in the water. Enjoying the cool water washing away all the discomforts of his hard work.

Link spent the rest of the day exploring the woods, just like he usually did. The sun had set by the time he returned home. And as he approached the bushes, he heard voices. He grinned, knowing it was men from the nearby village trying to kill him.

(Don't ask me why in the world he's grinning)

He walked quietly around towards his home, making sure the men heard the sound of his boots through the bushes. He could hear them talking quietly, their voices filled with worry.

"Let's get him!" one of them said.

"Hold on! Do you know what that Hylian could do to you?" another said.

"Yeah, he'll zap you with his freaky magic or slice you to ribbons with his sword!" A third said, his voice shaking.

"Actually, I'd prefer to scare you out of your skins." A voice said, the men turned around and saw Link standing behind them.

"You know, they say these woods are filled with monsters. So how is it that the lot of you ending up?" Link asked, grinning.

"Back you fiend, back!" one of the men said, pointing his pitchfork at Link. "I'm warning you!" he said.

Link grinned and snapped his fingers, causing the pitchfork to catch on fire. Startled the man dropped it, where another snap of Link's fingers put the fire out. All the men stared at him fearfully.

"What? You want to see more magic?" Link asked, he pulled and arrow from his quiver and aimed it towards the target across the clearing. The arrow glowed, and a blue fire suddenly appeared around it. Link shot the arrow and it flew towards the target, hitting it dead center. The men stared fearfully at Link for a minute before racing off, terrified.

"I won't be seeing them for a while." Link said. As headed back up to his house, he noticed a piece of paper. Picking it up, he read.

'Wanted, Hyrule creatures. Reward.' Rolling his eyes, Link dropped the paper and disappeared into his house.

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In the village near Link's home, humans from all over were coming to turn in their Hyrule creatures in hopes of getting some money.

"That's five rupees for the Zora, take her away." The captain said, not even glancing at the Zora princess as they hauled her away. He handed the human his money and turned to the next customer. In the middle of the line, an old woman was leading a wolf with a rope around its nuzzle.

"Please don't turn me in, I can change give me another chance!" The wolf said, the woman smacked its jaw.

"Oh shut up!" she snapped. "Next!" the captain said, the woman stepped forward.

"What have you got?" the captain asked. The woman pulled the wolf towards the desk.

"I've got a talking wolf." She said, the man looked skeptical, "right… well that's good for ten rupees, if you can prove it." He said. The woman pulled the rope off the wolf's muzzle.

"Go ahead little guy." She said, the wolf was silent. The captain looked unimpressed. "Well?" The woman laughed nervously.

"Oh, he's just a little nervous. He's really quite the chatter box." She said, she glared at the wolf.

"I've heard enough. Guards!" the captain said. "No no! He talks! He does!" the woman insisted as the guards began to drag her away. She accidentally kicked the poor wolf in the side, causing him to jump.

"Hey watch it!" he said, the captain looked stunned. "he can talk?!"

"Uh oh," the wolf said.

"Sieze him!" the captain cried, pointing towards the wolf. Immediately guards began chasing the poor wolf, who was running as fast as he could. He raced through the woods, accidentally bumping into a man. Who happened to be Link. The wolf hid behind Link just as the soldiers ran up.

"You there, Hylian." The captain said, pulling out a scroll with the letter G on it.

"By the order of lord Ganondorf, I am authorized the place you both under arrest and transport you to a designated… resettlement… facility." He swallowed hard at the amused look on Link's face.

"Uh huh, you and… what army?" Link said, glancing behind the captain to see all the soldiers gone. Their shields rattling as they hit the ground. The captain swallowed hard, then turned and ran. Link turned and started walking away as he left. The wolf stuck his tongue out at the men before running after Link.

"That was really cool, thanks for saving me back there." The wolf said, Link shrugged. "I didn't really do anything." He said.

"So what's your name?" the wolf asked, Link glanced at him. "Um, Link." He said. The wolf nodded.

"Interesting name. My name's Shiek."

-0-

Shiek followed Link all the way back to his house, where he convinced Link to let him stay for the night.

Link was reluctant at first, but eventually let him stay. As he ate his dinner, he heard a noise outside. Thinking it was Shiek, he brushed it off. Until he discovered a huge Goron in his house.

"What are you doing h-" he broke off as he opened the door. Hundreds of Hyrule creatures were out there, camping in his front yard. There were fairies and Zoras and Greudos and Gorons all over.

"What are you all doing here? Where's your home?" Link asked, all the creatures stopped to look at him.

"All of you need to go back to your homes. You can't stay here." Link said.

"We have no where else to go." A Zora said, Link groaned.

"What are you talking about?" he asked.

"Lord Ganondorf, he signed eviction orders." A Goron said. Link groaned again.

"Do any of you know where to find this… Ganondorf guy?" he asked. Sheik immediately jumped up. "I know where to find him!"

"Alright, alright. Listen up everyone. I'm going to go see this Ganondorf guy right now and get you all back where you came from!" Link said, the creatures all began to cheer.

"Let's go Sheik." Link said, grabbing his sword and other equipment. "We've got a king to find."

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**Like I said, sorry it's so short. The next chapter will be longer, I can assure you of that. I wonder what my review goal should be for this story... maybe... 40 or 50? I dunno. Please review! If you have any ideas for characters, let me know! I could use a bit of help...**

**Oh yeah, I could use some job ideas for Willie from 'Link's Hardships.' I've been thinking about a farmer, a blacksmith or even a builder. But I'm not too sure, so ideas are welcome.**

**By the way, I reposted this chapter due to all my capitalization errors. It's exactly the same, I just fixed the capitalization and punctuation and stuff.**

**Please review! It's not like I'll die if I don't get a review or anything... but it's nice anyways. Good feedback on how the story's doing. See ya!**

**Anime Wildfire**


	3. The quest

**Hey Everyone, sorry for the long wait. I've had a few things going on and kinda forgot. Anyway, my computer's back to normal now! So I should have no more problems updating from now on. Enjoy the chapter!**

**Anime Wildfire**

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Chapter 3, the quest.

A man walked down the hallway, his boots thudding down the hallway as he entered the room through a pair of huge wooden doors, nodding to the guards as he entered.

Inside, a man was tapping the glass of a small cage. A fairy was inside, covering her ears to block out the tapping.

"That's enough!" the man said, he laughed and walked over to the table, only to find his forehead meeting with the edge of the table.

"Ahem!" he said, and the table lowered to his height. The man glanced at the fairy in the glass and tapped it several times.

"Fly fly fly as fast as I can, you can't catch me, I'm the fairy princess!" he taunted her, laughing as she covered her ears to block out the tapping noise.

"You're a monster!" the fairy said, the man laughed. "I'm not the monster here, you are! You and the rest of those fairy tale beasts poisoning my perfect world. Now, where are the others!?"

"Torture me! Hm!" the fairy said, sticking her tiny nose in the air. The man began pacing.

"I've tried to be patient with you fairy tale monsters, but now my patience has reached its end! Now tell me, who's hiding them!"

"Alright, I'll tell you." The fairy said, "Do you know the ranch girl?" she asked.

"The ranch girl?" the man said, "the ranch girl." The fairy repeated.

"Yes I know the ranch girl, who lives on Lon Lon ranch?"

"Well, he's married to, the ranch girl."

"The ranch girl?"

"THE RANCH GIRL!"

"He's married to the ranch girl…" he was cut off by a guard suddenly bursting in the room.

"My lord! We found it." He said, the lord looked excited. "What are you waiting for? Bring it in!" he said.

A minute later, the guards brought in a large mirror covered with a cloth. The men hung it up and pulled the cloth off, revealing a face in the mirror.

All the men ahhed.

"Magic mirror." The lord said.

"Don't tell him anything!" the fairy cried. Angry, the lord threw a cloth over the fairy's cage before turning back to the mirror.

"Evening… Mirror mirror on the wall, is this not the most perfect kingdom of them all?" he said.

"Uh, technically you're, not a king." The mirror said. The lord turned to one of his men.

"Uh, Indigo" The man he turned to held up a small mirror and smashed it.

"You were saying?" the lord asked. The mirror grimaced.

"What I mean is, you're not a king yet, heh, but you can become one. All you have to do is marry a princess."

"Go on…" the lord said.

"So… just sit back and relax my lord, because it's time for you to meet today's eligible bachelorettes. And heeeerrrrreee they are!"

The mirror showed a picture of a woman with fins.

"Bachelorette number one is a princess from a water tribe far far away; she hates sushi, and loves swimming, all the time! Her hobbies include swimming and chasing after cute guys. Give it up for Princess Ruto!"

The mirror showed a picture of a woman with swords.

"Bachelorette number 2 it fiery redhead from the desserts of Greudo valley. Although she's part of an all women tribe, she's not easy. Her hobbies include swordfight, archery and stealing. Give it up for Nabooru!"

The mirror showed a picture of a girl with blonde hair in a braid leaning out a window.

"Bachelorette number three is a fiery girl from a dragon guarded castle surrounded by hot boiling lava! But don't let that cool you off. She's a tough princess who likes flowers and getting caught in the rain. All up for rescuing, princess Zelda!"

"So who will it be, bachelorette number one, bachelorette number 2, or bachelorette number three?" Behind the lord, all the men began calling out numbers for which bachlorette he should choose.

"Number 3!"  
"Two two number two!"

"Pick number 1!"

"Number 2… no no no… number three… no nono…" Ganondorf muttered.

"Number three, pick number 3 my lord!" Indigo said, holding up 2 fingers.

"Ok ok! Uh…. Number three!"

"Lord Ganondorf, you've chosen, princess Zelda." The mirror said, showing Zelda's picture again.

"Princess Zelda… she's perfect." Ganondorf said, he began muttering to himself about finding someone to rescue her.

"Although I should mention one thing…" the mirror began.

"Silence!" Ganondorf said, stopping all the noise in the room. "I will make this princess Zelda my queen, and Hyrule will finally have, the perfect king! Captain assemble your finest men, we're going to have a tournament!"

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"See! There it is right there, Hyrule castle. I told you I'd find it!"

"At least you found it." Link replied, pausing to stare at the giant castle for a minute.

"So that must be the castle…" he said, Sheik nodded. "Yep, that's castle town." He said, the two continued on, frightening the poor man welcoming them to death before heading inside castle town. An ere silence filled the area.

"Where is everybody?" Link wondered, all the shops were closed.

"Hey look at this!" Sheik said, pulling on the small handle of a sign that said 'information'. A timer started, causing Link and Sheik to back up a bit. Both were surprised when a door popped open and a song began to play. At the end of the song, a camera took a picture, showing the two standing there with weirded out expressions on their face.

"Wow…" Shiek said, "Let's do that again!" Link grabbed him by the tail.

"No!" he said. At that moment, trumpets sounded. Link and Sheik both turned their heads towards the sound, wondering where it was coming from.

"-The winner will have the honor, no, the privilege to go forth and rescue the lovely princess Zelda from the fiery clutch of the _dragon!_" lord Ganondorf was saying.

As Link and Shiek stood in the entrance of the arena, they saw men holding up signs, telling the audience how to respond. Link rolled his eyes and headed into the arena, Shiek followed him.

"Some of you may die, but it is a sacrifice, I am willing to make for the kingdom!" lord Ganondorf said. The crowd cheered, thanks to the signs.

Lord Ganondorf suddenly caught sight of Link as he reached the middle of the arena.

"What is _that_?!" he said, and everyone in the arena caught sight of Link.

"Ugh, what kind of ears are those?!" Link frowned. "Hey, that's not very nice." He glanced back at Shiek.

"Wolves are born with pointy ears." He said.

"Indeed." Ganondorf said, "Knights, new plan! The one who kills the Hylian will be named champion! After him!"

All the knights immediately began advancing towards Link, their weapons drawn.

"Can't we just settle this over a drink or something?" Link said, the men continued towards him.

"No… alright then, you asked for." Link quickly drew his sword and shield and leapt at the men, using his shield to knock several of them out of the way before his sword hit another's. Thanks to his Hylian strength, he easily knocked the man to the side and proceeded to the next one.

Shiek climbed on top of one of the barrels and rolled it over several of the soldiers, squishing them into the ground.

"Is this all you've got? I was expecting something a bit more impressive!" Link said, using his spin attack to thrown 5 men back. Lord Ganondorf's eyes narrowed as he watched.

One of the men charged at Link, sword drawn. Link quickly rolled to the side and kicked the man in the feet to knocked him over before moving on to his next victim… err, opponent.

Finally the last soldier was defeated, and the entire crowd was cheering for Link. He waved a bit, but when Ganondorf waved his hand, several soldiers aimed their arrows at Link. He narrowed his eyes.

"Sir? Shall I give the order?" a man asked Ganondorf. He shook his head. "No, I have a much better idea." He said.

"People of Hyrule, I give you our champion!" he said, Link looked confused.

"What?" he said, glancing around as all the people cheered.

"Congratulations Hylian, you've won the privilege to take on a most noble quest!" Ganondorf said.

"Quest? I'm already on a quest. A quest to get back the homes of all the fairy tale creatures!" Link said.

"Fairy tale creatures?" Ganondorf repeated.

"Yeah, after you dumped them all in my forest!" Link said.

"I see… Tell you what _Hylian_. I'll make you a deal. Go on this simple quest for me and I'll give all the _creatures_ their homes back." He said. Link narrowed his eyes at him.

"Exactly the way it was when they left?" he questioned. Ganondorf rolled his eyes and nodded.

"Down to every last disgusting detail." He hissed. Link glanced at sideways at the soldiers,

"What kind of quest?"

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"Let me get this straight. You're gonna go fight a dragon to rescue a princess just so Ganondorf will give the fairy tale creatures their homes back which they only don't have because he signed eviction orders in the first place?" Shiek said. Link sighed.

"Yep, that's it." He said.

'I don't get it Link, why not just use magic on em'? You know, freak em' out a bit. Levitate them over an alligator or somethin'." Shiek said.

"Know what? How about I freeze them into an ice block, set the castle on fire then levitate them over the fire until the ice melts? Sound good to you?" Link asked.

"No… not really." Shiek said.

"You know there's a lot more to Hylians than humans think." Link said.

"Example…?" Shiek asked as he followed Link through an apple orchard.

"Example? Um… Hylians… are like apples." He said, pulling a red apple down from the tree. Shiek sniffed it.

"They smell good?"

"No… Yes!"

"Oh… they're round and fat?"

"No!"

"Oh… you leave em' out in the sun and they get all dried and shriveled up!"

"NO!!"

"Than what?!" Shiek asked, Link sighed.

"Apples are hard on the outside, Hylians are hard on the outside, tough. But on the inside…" Link cut open the apple and showed Shiek the star in the middle. "-There's something beautiful and amazing." He said.

"… Cool!" Shiek said, taking a bit out of the apple in Link's hand. Link rolled his eyes and continued walking. Shiek watched him go for a minute while he chewed before running to catch up with him.

" You know, I like apples." Shiek said, Link sighed. This was going to be a lonnnnnnnnnng trip.

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"I am not getting a good feeling about this." Shiek said. He and Link were standing at the bottom of a mountain, smoke could be seen pouring out of the top of the mountain.

"Let's go Shiek." Link said, beginning his climb up the mountain. Shiek swallowed hard and followed him, digging his feet into the rock and hauling himself up beside Link. What he saw made his blood run cold, even Link looked a bit pale.

The castle was there alright, but it was surrounded by a huge pit of boiling lava!

"Uh Link?" Shiek said as the two made their way in. "remember what you said about Hylians and apples?

"Why?" Link asked, approaching the rickety bridge that was the only way across to the lava. Shiek swallowed as he skirted past the skeleton of a horse.

"I-I don't really have a tough outside, nope nope, I'm right out there in the open." Shiek said. Link groaned.

"Don't tell me your afraid of heights." Link said, glancing back at Shiek. Shiek swallowed hard.

"No… I'm just a bit uncomfortable walking on a rickety bridge over boiling lethal lava!" Shiek said, nodding towards the lava.

"Com on Shiek, we'll just tackle thing one little simple step at a time." Link said, pushing Shiek on the bridge.

"You're sure about this?" Shiek said, Link nodded. " Of course." _I think._ He thought to himself.

"That makes me feel much better." Shiek said, he closed his eyes and took a few steps forwards. "Don't look down don't look down…" he kept repeating. Link walked slowly behind him, completely unafraid to be walking on a rickety bridge.

"Link, I'm looking down!" Shiek said a minute later. He had tripped and broken one of the boards, sending it falling into the lava.

"Ahh!!!!!!" Shiek cried, he turned around. "Let me off right now!" he insisted.

"You're all ready half way!" Link said, nodding towards the other side.

"Yeah but I know THAT half is safe!" Shiek said, pointing towards the side they had come from.

"Then go back! I don't have time to be standing here!" Link said, he kept walking.

"No wait Link!" Shiek said, trying to slip past Link. "Ah! Don't do that!" Shiek insisted when Link accidentally made the bridge shake.

"Do what?" Link asked, "Oh, this?" he shook the bridge, making it sway dangerously.

"Yes that!" Shiek snapped.

"Yes, do it. Alright." Link said, grinning the whole time. He moved towards Shiek, shaking the bridge the entire time. Shiek kept backing up, repeating over and over.

"I'm gonne die I'm gonna die…" He peeked open his eyes, and noticed he was standing on the other side of the bridge. "Oh…" Link walked off the bridge, grinning as he petted Shiek's head.

"That'll do Shiek, That'll do." He said, he continued walking towards the castle. Shiek glanced back at the bridge.

"Cool…" he said, he ran after Link to catch up.

"So where is fire-breathin pain-in-the-neck anyway?" Shiek asked.

"Inside, waiting for us to rescue her." Link replied.

"I was talking about the dragon Link." Shiek replied.

And so the rescue had begun.

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**Yup, that's the end. I checked my spelling and punctuation twice, so it should be ok. Keep an eye out for the next chapter! We'll be meeting Zelda next. See ya!**

**Anime Wildfire**


	4. Princess Zelda

**Wow, it's been forever since I updated this story. Sorry everyone, I've just been so busy at the moment. School's driving me crazy, and I had a bit of a writer's block. But what else is new?**

**By the way, does anyone know the correct way to spell Sheik? Is is Shiek or Sheik? I've been spelling it Sheik, but I wasn't 100 percent sure it was correct.**

**By the way, I don't own Shrek or the legend of Zelda. Though I would love to own Link...**

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The castle was dark and creepy, shadows were everywhere, causing Shiek to swallow hard.

Cracks were all over the floor, smoke seeping out of them.

"You scared?" Shiek whispered, his eyes darting all around him.

"No." Link replied, glancing around.

"Good, me neither." Shiek said, jumping as he raced after Link. He started whispering to Link about how he wasn't a coward, jumping as he stepped close to a skeleton. Link rolled his eyes as Shiek crashed into a skeleton covered in armor. Shiek cried out and jumped back, the former knight's armor on his head.

"Shiek, did you ever think there was a reason wolves don't talk?"  
Link said, pulling to armor off Shiek, he gathered up a bit of the armor.

"Now go over there and see if you can find any stairs." Link said, putting some of the armor on.

"Stairs? Weren't we looking for the princess?" Shiek said.

"The princess will be in the highest room, in the tallest tower." Link said, putting the helmet on his head.

"What make you think she'll be there?" Shiek asked.

"I read it in a book once." Link said, closing the helmet.

"That's cool. You handle the dragon. I'll handle the stairs." He said, he started walking.

"I'll find those stairs, I'll whip their butt to! That's right, those stairs won't know which way they're going!" He pushed open a huge wooden door.

"-Don't mess with me, I'm the stair master! I'll master the stairs. Those stairs don't stand a chance!" he stopped in front of a hole in the wall. Behind him, an eye opened and stared at him.

-0-

Link finished pulling the rest of the armor on and noticed a very high tower with a light on.

"Well, at least we know where the princess is. But where's the-"

"DRAGON!!!!" Sheik screamed, he took off running as the dragon opened it's mouth and breathed fire right where he had been standing.

"Look out Sheik!" Link cried, pushing Shiek out of the way and ducking to avoid more of the dragon's fire.

Sheik took off running, but stopped when he realized there was nowhere to hide. The dragon breathed more fire, scorching the tip of Shiek's tail. He moaned and pulled his tail away.

The dragon loomed above him with its mouth open to eat him, but stopped and turned around to find Link pulling on its tail, luckily distracting it long enough for Sheik to jump up and run away.

The dragon shook its tail several times, trying to shake poor Link off as he hung on for dear life. Finally Link lost his grip and went flying through the air, breaking through the roof of the tallest tower, where princess Zelda was.

Meanwhile, Sheik was running across a bridge for dear life, trying to avoid the dragon's flame. The dragon used it's tail to break off a section of the bridge. Sheik panicked and tried to run the other way, only to find that escape gone too. Trembling, Sheik found himself face to face with a giant dragon.

As the dragon leered down at him, Shiek began to use his so-called 'clever' charming skills. (Hey, if it worked for that farmer who tried to eat him, then why not a dragon?)

"W-what dazzling features you have!" Sheik began. "I know you probably get sick of hearing this, but do you polish those shiny red scales a-and sharp fangs? Because those are some shiny scales, I mean they're shinier than rubys! And you know what else? Your a-" the dragon began batting her eyelashes at him and blushing.

"-A girl dragon! I mean… I was just blinded by your feminine beauty!" The dragon smiled and seemed to perk up at Sheik's words. (poor guy doesn't know what he's getting into)

Grinning sheepishly, Sheik turned around and called. "Link!" The dragon picked him up by his fuzzy tail and carried him away, swinging her tail happily while he repeatedly called Link's name.

-0-

Groaning, Link stood up. Behind him, Zelda was smiling like a little girl as she lay on the bed acting as if she was in a deep sleep, making sure to pucker her lips.

Standing up, Link glanced around the room. Obviously noticing Zelda 'sleeping' on the bed. Walking over, he poked her in the arm.

"Hey princess, wake up." He said, shaking her arm. Zelda sat up.

"Why are you waking me up?! You're suppost to kiss me!" she said, Link stared at her with one eyebrow raised.

"First off, gross. Second of, no way!" Link said, he grabbed her arm and pulled her over to the door.

"Wait! This is all wrong! You're suppost to sweep me off my feet and whisk me away outside the castle onto your most noble steed!" Zelda said as Link knocked the door down. He glanced back at her.

"You've had a long time to plan this, haven't you?" He said. Zelda nodded just as Link pulled her out of the room and down the staircase.

"You could at least recite me a poem or a song or something!" Zelda said, Link snorted.

"Yeah right." He said, he grabbed a torch and glanced around the room.

"Well then will you at least tell me your name?" Zelda asked, Link hesitated.

"Link." He finally said, Zelda nodded.

"So _Link_." Zelda said in a sweet tone, Link slowly glanced at her. Zelda held out a handkerchief.

"I pray you take this favor as a token of my gratitude." She said, Link took it from her, used it to clean some of the dust off his face, and then handed it back to her.

"Thanks." He said as he turned back towards the door. Zelda stared at the cloth in disgust.

Just then, the dragon roared from another room.

"You didn't slay the dragon?! Can't you do anything right?!" Zelda said. Link rolled his eyes.

"Well it's not exactly on my list of things to do before I die!" He said, grabbing her arm and pulling her after him.

"You've got everything wrong!" Zelda said, "You're suppost to drive in with your sword drawn and you flag waving. That's what all the other knights did!"

"Uh yeah! Right before they got roasted to death!" Link said.

"That's not the issue here!" Zelda snapped. Link let go of her arm and started jumping across rocks surrounded by lava to get to a door.

"Wait a minute the exits this way." Zelda said, pointing to her left.

"Well I have to save my 'steed'" Link said, pushing open the large pair of double doors. Inside, the dragon was sitting on a pile of coins the size of lake Hylia, Her tail wrapped firmly around Sheik. Shiek was talking about random things, trying to distract the dragon.

Glancing around, Link spotted a chandelier hanging above the dragon's head. He followed the chain attached to the chandelier to a hook attached to the wall.

While the dragon was busy lighting the chandelier and cooing at Shiek, Link unhooked the chain and used it to swing above the dragon's head, an idea forming in Link's head as he pulled hard on the chain to get it loose.

When the chain finally came loose, Link let go and dropped onto the dragon's tail, watching as the chandelier went over the dragon's head, just like a dog collar. The dragon roared at the sight of Link, accidentally loosening its tail and allowing Sheik to slip out. Link and Sheik bolted for the door without a second thought. The dragon blew fire at them, and then roared.

Zelda was waiting for them right where Link had left her. And with out even stopping he picked her up and kept of running, glancing over his shoulder to see the dragon close behind.

Suddenly, the path came to an end, with the choice of sliding down a broken pillar or 20-25 foot jump down to the bottom. Link decided to take the fast way and leaped down, Zelda screaming as he landed easily a jump that would have injured a normal human very badly. Sheik wasn't far behind, deciding he'd rather not be left behind.

Link and Sheik wove their way through several pillars in a large ballroom, Zelda still being carried by Link.

The dragon was still behind them, the chain trailing behind it like a collar. Link and Sheik continued to weave their way through the pillars, causing the chain on the chandelier around the dragon's neck to get caught around each pillar.

Link ducked as the dragon breathed fire towards them and dodge a few of the chains before letting Zelda down.

"Hurry! Head for the exit!" he said, Zelda and Shiek took off running.

"I'll take care of the dragon." Link said, grabbing a sword near one of the walls and thrusting it through one of the chain links and into the ground, pinning it there before taking off after the other two.

They were waiting for him by the entrance, and as he got close all three ran straight for the bridge just as the dragon shot fire at them. They were almost across when the bridge snapped from the dragon's fire, causing Link and Zelda to grab the rope and Sheik to bite the wood and dig his claws into the wood as best he could.

Panic shot through all of them and Zelda screamed as the dragon roared and took off, flying straight towards them. But inside the castle, all the weaving through the pillars they had done had shortened the chain drastically.

The chain tightened around the dragon's throat, jerking her backwards amd holding tightly as the dragon coughed several times and tried to pull free of the chain. It didn't budge, so the poor dragon flew back to the castle, landing with a pout as she watched Link, Zelda and Shiek climb to safety on the other side.

The three climbed over the side of the mountain, sliding down to a ledge twenty feet below them. Zelda slid down first, followed by Link, who caught Shiek as he tripped and fell down the ledge.

"You did it! You saved me! You're strong and brave and-" she broke off and sighed, turning to face Link and Shiek.

Link was completely ignoring her, dusting off his tunic with his hands. Shiek was looking as if he was going to crack up at any second. He was quieted when Zelda shot a glare cold enough to freeze ice at him.

"Hey! Are you listening to me?" Link glanced up, "hmm?" Zelda groaned, her hands on her hips.

"So, are you going to tell me who you are?" Link shook his head.

"I don't think that's a good idea, princess." Zelda sighed,

"First off, stop calling me princess, my name is Zelda. And second off, why not?" Link shrugged.

"I just don't think that's a good idea." Zelda narrowed her eyes.

"Take off the helmet." Link shook his head.

"No." Zelda stomped her foot. "Take it off this minute!" she demanded.

"I'm not going to!"

"Take it off!"

"No!"

"NOW!" Link still shook his head. Zelda's face was as red as a tomato.

"Take it off right now!" she demanded. Link sighed.

"Ok! Fine, _princess._" He emphasized the word princess. Zelda ignored him and waited, hands on her hips as Link pulled his helmet off. She gasped.

She was standing in front of the most handsome man she'd ever seen. His hair was a soft gold color, his eyes a deep ocean blue. She hadn't noticed it before, but he was taller than the average man, around 6'5" she'd guess. She suddenly realized what he was.

"You're… a Hylian." She said, Link shrugged.

"Look princess, I'm only here to take you back to Hyrule castle."

"Hyrule castle?" Zelda repeated, Link nodded.

"Yup, Lord Ganondorf's the one who wants to marry you." To his surprise, Zelda's hands balled into fists and she sat stiffly on a log.

"Then why didn't HE come rescue me?" she asked stiffly. Link and Shiek glanced at each other and grinned.

"Let's just say there's a few 'small' problems with that." Shiek snorted in laughter, Zelda looked confused. "What-" Link cut her off.

"Let's go princess." Zelda shook her head and glanced away. "I'm not going. You can't make me." Link groaned.

"Listen, you don't have to be difficult about this. You're going whether you want to or not." Zelda sniffed. Link rolled his eyes and picked Zelda up, slinging her over his shoulder.

"Hey! Let me down! I demand you put me down NOW!" Zelda struggled, kicking her feet and squirming as much as possible. Link ignored her and started walking.

"Comin' Shiek?" Shiek nodded and jogged until he caught up with them. Zelda was still kicking and screaming.

---------------------------------------------

A few hours later, Zelda had given up on kicking and screaming, realizing it was going to get her nowhere.

"You know princess, you've gotten awfully quiet." Shiek said, he was walking behind Link. Zelda groaned.

"I'm thinking, it's not like there's much else to do."

"Well, how about helping me? I need some advice." Zelda nodded for him to continue, anything was better than doing nothing.

"Ok, say there's this girl who likes you, but you don't like her. How do you let her down without getting burnt into a crisp?"

"Well, you just tell straight up in a _polite and gentlemanly manner_-"  
she threw that one over her shoulder at Link, who grinned,

"- That you are not interested. It's that simple." Sheik sighed. "Thanks princess."

"Not what of my groom-to-be, what's he like?" Shiek snorted, trying to hide his laughter.

"Let's just say he's a 'little' different from what you're probably expecting." Link said, dropping Zelda on the ground. She made a face at him.

"No no Link, there are those who think 'little' of him!" Link and Shiek both started laughing as Zelda stood up.

"Stop it, stop it both of you. You're just jealous that you could never be such a noble ruler like a lord Ganondorf." She said, gesturing with her hands. Link and Shiek laughed again before heading towards the woods.

"Yeah princess, we'll let you do the evaluating when you see him tomorrow."

"Tomorrow?" Zelda asked, glancing behind her at the setting sun "It'll take that long?" her voice was slightly panicked.

"At least, maybe even longer." Link replied heading for the darkening forest. Zelda bit her lip and glanced around.

"Shouldn't we at least stop and camp for the night?" Link shook his head.

"No, that'll take even longer."

"But, there's Greudos and thieves in the woods…" Zelda protested, Shiek stopped in his tracks.

"You know Link, camping is defiantly starting to sound good."

"Oh come on, I'm bigger than anything in this forest. And the Greudos will only go after me, seeing as they only go after men." Zelda marched up to Link, fists clenched.

"I need to find somewhere to camp NOW." Link and Shiek glanced at each other, eyes wide.

Ten minutes later…

Link approached a tree with a hole in the base and peeked in.

"Hey! What about this?" Zelda practically shoved him out of the way to look.

"It's perfect, it's just missing something." Link looked confused.

"Like what?" CRACK!

Zelda pulled off a piece of the giant tree's bark. "A door. Well boys, goodnight." And with that she disappeared into the tree, propping the bark in front of the opening like a door.

"You want me to come in there and sing you a lullaby? Cause I will." Shiek said to the bark.

"I said goodnight!" Zelda snapped. Link and Shiek glanced at each other and shrugged.

A few minutes later, Link had a fire going a few feet away from Zelda's homey little tree. Link was stretched out on his back, one arm under his head like a pillow. Shiek was lying on the opposite side of the fire, his eyes glowing as he looked up at the stars shining in the navy sky.

"Hey Link, is it just me, or does that star look like a spoon?" Link glanced towards the spot Shiek was looking at.

"That's a constellation Shiek, you know, the big dipper?" Sheik shook his head. Link pointed towards the sky.

"See those stars in a row?" he pointed with his finger. "That's the handle, and those stars from the square on the left are the dipper part. See it now?" Sheik nodded.

"And what about that group over there? See it, on the right?" Sheik pointed with his paw. Unnoticed behind them, an eye was watching them from Zelda's tree.

"Yeah, Sheik, I see it." Link's voice had a hint of sadness in it.

"What constellation is that?" Sheik asked, Link hesitated for a minute before speaking.

"That's the constellation of Derian, one of the greatest Hylian warriors to ever live." Sheik looked impressed.

"Wow, what was he like?" Link shrugged.

"I never really met him, he died around the time I was born. But I wish I had met him." Shiek glanced at Link, he had a sort of… longing look on his face.

"There's more though, isn't there?" he asked. Link hesitated, and then slowly nodded, standing up and making his way towards the ledge. (The landscaping is the same as Shrek) Sheik sat up and waited, watching Link. Finally Link spoke.

"He… was my father. I never got to meet him. Both my parents died when I was a baby." Shiek looked surprised.

"I'm sorry about that Link, must' of been hard." Link shrugged.

"It wasn't too bad. I wasn't even a year old when they died. I never knew them enough to really have lost them."

"Still, growing up along must have been hard." Link nodded. "Yeah, but I wasn't completely alone. An old Hylian woman took me in after my parents died. She raised me until I was ten, then she died and I've been on my own ever since." Sheik didn't answer, instead, he walked slowly over and sat next to Link, glancing up at the sky.

"So, are there any wolves up there?" Link leaned back,

"Well, there's Abigail, she was a wolf who traveled over a hundred miles to save her family…"

Behind them, the eye watching them was sympathetic, and then the tree-bark door slid back into place, and the only noise was Link and Sheik's low voices.

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**By the way, can anyone guess who the dragon is? I left a clue hidden in the chapter, cookies to whoever figures it out! (and not just any cookies, oreo cookies!)**

**Read and Review! The next chapter for Link's hardships should be up soon too, depending on when I decide to post it. **

**BTW, check out my profile for news on some of the stories I'm working on!**

**Anime Wildfire**


	5. Merry who?

**Yes! the next chapter of 'Shrek, Zelda style' Enjoy! And please review!**

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Chapter 5, Merry who?

Then next morning, the door of Zelda's tree was pushed aside and Zelda emerged, smiling. She glanced around, noticing her two traveling companions sleeping.

Being careful not to disturb them, she slipped away quietly into the forest, taking in a breath of fresh air.

"So beautiful…" she muttered to herself. She approached a tree, smiling at a bird sitting on its nest. She hummed softly, and the bird began to chirp, hopping off its nest to perch in front of her.

Zelda continued to hum, until she noticed the forest around her had become very quiet.

The bird she had been singing took off fly, landing on a branch above Zelda. All the sudden, an owl flew out of the tree and snatched off the bird, flying high into the air and out of sight above the trees.

Zelda gasped in horror, her mouth open. She glanced at the small nest in the tree, in which three small eggs lay.

15 minutes later, Zelda sat at the fire back at the camp, watching the three eggs cook while Link and Sheik continued sleeping. A few minutes later, Link stirred and sat up, eyes widening at the sight of Zelda. He shook Sheik's shoulder, ignoring Sheik's mumbling in his sleep.

"Sheik! Wake up!" Sheik woke up in an instant, his own eyes widening at the sight of the food. Zelda glanced up.

"Oh, morning. Um, how do these look?" Sheik licked his lips, staring at the eggs.

"What's with this?" Link asked, gesturing at the food. Zelda picked up the small rock the eggs had been cooking on and sat in front of Link and Sheik.

"I felt bad, you know, the three of us got off to a bad start, so I wanted to make it up to you."

"Thanks, I guess." Link replied, standing up. He stretched a bit.

"Let's keep going, we've got a long day ahead of us."

-0-

A while later…

"So Link, how long have you lived in Hyrule?"

"Most of my life."

"Ever been to the castle?"

"Nope."

"Ever killed a dragon before?"

"…"

"Was that a yes?"

"…"

"Fine, ever eaten-"

"Nope."

"What about and alligator? Ever eaten one of those before?"

"No, but I have killed plenty of _wolves_ before."

That shut Sheik up for a while. (A/N that was Sheik questioning Link)

Zelda walked quietly behind Link and Sheik as Sheik questioned Link, thinking.

"Hey princess, have you been kidnapped back there?" Link asked, Zelda jerked back to reality. "Huh?"

"I said, have you been kidnapped? You've been awfully quiet back there." Zelda shook her head.

"Sorry, I was just thinking." She quickly hurried to catch up with Link and Shiek, trying not to smile as Sheik continued to question Link.

"So, have you ever killed a dragon?"

"Yes, once when I was a kid."

"Yikes. Have you ever killed a human?"

"Yes, but only in a life-threatening situation."

"Have you ever-"

"Sheik, are you done questioning me or do I have to tape your mouth shut to keep you quiet?" Sheik shook his head. Link breathed a sigh of relief.

"Finally, some peace and quiet." Sheik glanced at Zelda, Link threw him a glare that said 'don't even think about it'

The three were silent as they made their way through the dark forest, all three keeping their eyes peeled for trouble.

But none of expected what came next.

"Hiya!"

A green blur suddenly swooped down at scooped Zelda up, landing a tree next to the road about 30 feet of the ground.

"Princess!" Link shouted, watching as they landed in the tree.

"What are you doing?!" Zelda snapped as the mysterious person landed in the tree. It was a young man wearing green.

"Don't fear princess! I am rescuing you from that evil Hylian!" On the ground, Link rolled his eyes.

"Hey! That's my princess, go get your own!" The young man glared at Link.

"Watch it Hylian! Can't you see I'm saving her?!" Link rolled his eyes again. Zelda grabbed the man by his shirt collar and jerked him towards her.

"Look loser! I don't know who the hell you think you are-" The man shook his head.

"Of course princess, I'm so rude, I completely forgot to introduce myself. Oh Kokiri!"

As if on cue, several people wearing green jumped out of the woods. The mysterious man jumped down to join him, and they all began singing.

"I steal from the rich and feed to the needy! I rescue pretty damsels and princesses too! All the time! Haha! Mister Mido!"

(A/N everyone reading this is probably cracking up right now, I know I am!)

Link and Zelda glanced at each other and shrugged in confusion as Mido and his Kokiri group continued dancing and singing. It wasn't until Mido pulled out a dagger and started singing about gouging out eyes that Zelda's own eyes widened.

"Hiya!" Just as Mido pointed the dagger at Link, something kicked him in the head, knocking him unconscious. A purple blur flew out of the trees and landed right next to wear he had been standing, it was Zelda. The Kokiri looked shocked.

"Man was he getting annoying." Zelda said, shaking her head. Behind her, one of the Kokiri pulled out a bow and arrow.

"Why you-" Zelda avoided the arrow, which bounced off some trees, did several flips until she was right in front of him. She punched him several times until he fell, punching the man who tried to sneak up behind her, kicking him in the stomach with her shoes.

Two men began running at her, Zelda shot up in the air, behind careful of her hair, and kicked them both square in the face. Another began running after her, she raced towards a tree, running up the trunk and back flipping off it to land right behind the man, he turned and winced as she punched him square in the jaw.

The last of the men raced towards Zelda, she quickly jumped and flipped around, kicking him in the face.

"Yah!" she landed on the ground, positioned to fight. Upon seeing that all the Kokiri were out cold, she relaxed, smoothing her purple dress with her hands as she made her way towards Link and sheik, whose mouths were handing open.

"Ready to continue?" Without waiting she walked past them and continued one, leaving them with their mouths hanging open. The two shook their heads and raced after her.

"Wait a minute! What was that?" Link asked as they caught up with her.

"What was what?" Zelda asked, stopping.

"What you did back there! Where'd you learn that?"

"That was amazing!" Sheik said. Zelda smiled lightly.

"Well… living alone for so long… you need to know these things in case-" She noticed Link's shoulder, which had the arrow stuck in it that was shot by one of the Kokiri.

"-There's an arrow in your shoulder!" Link and Sheik looked confused. Zelda pointed to Link's shoulder, he glanced at.

"Oh, would you look at that." He touched it lightly and winced. Zelda's hands flew to her mouth.

"I'm so sorry! It's all my fault." Link shook his head.

"It's just a scratch. Nothing big." Zelda looked at him as if he was insane. Sheik however, was reacting very differently.

"Link's hurt? Link's hurt?! Link's gonna die! Link's gonna die!" He was beginning to run around in circles, until Zelda grabbed onto his ear.

"Sheik! Calm down. If you wanna help Link, then run into the forest and find me a purple flower with blue thorns!" Sheik nodded several times.

"Purple flower blue thorns, purple flower blue thorns." Sheik repeated as he began to run into the woods.

"Be careful Link, and if you see a long tunnel, stay away from the light!"

"Sheik!"

"Sheik!"

"Right! Flowers! Purple flower blue thorns, purple flower blue thorns…"

"What in the world are the flowers gonna do?" Link asked as soon as Sheik was gone, pulling off his tunic and sitting on a giant rock.

"For getting rid of Sheik." Link nodded, his back to Zelda.

"Ok, so how do you want to do this?"

Meanwhile, in the forest…

"Purple flower blue thorns, Purple flower blue thorns…" Sheik was wondering through the woods, unnoticingly walking straight through a patch of purple flowers with blue thorns.

"This would be a whole lot easier if I wasn't colorblind! Purple flower blue thorns, Purple flower blue thorns…"

"Ah!" Link's shout of pain came from where Sheik had left Link and Zelda.

"Hold on Link! I'm coming!" Sheik wheeled around and grabbed the nearest flower with thorns before racing back towards his friends.

Meanwhile, back with Link and Zelda…

"Just pull the stupid thing out and be done with it." Link said. Zelda's cheeks heated up as she reached for the arrow.

_Stop it! Stop blushing…_ she scolded herself mentally.

Slowly she grasped the arrow and tugged it, it moved, but barely. Zelda was shocked, Link hadn't even flinched.

"Doesn't this hurt?" she asked, Link shrugged. "A bit, but not too much, I'm a Hylian, remember? Pain doesn't bother us very much." Zelda tugged harder, feeling the arrow beginning to give. Link flinched.

"That, however…" Zelda began to pull harder, causing Link to jump to his feet.

"Ah! Easy with the yanking here!" He said, touching the arrow tenderly. Zelda placed her hands on her hips, a scolding look on her face.

"I thought you just said Hylians don't feel pain? Besides, that arrow has to come out before it gets infected." She made a grab for the arrow, Link stepped back.

"I never said Hylians didn't feel pain! I said they don't feel as _much_ pain, there's a difference!"

"Look, either you sit down and hold still, or I'll pull that arrow out by force!" Link snorted. "I'd like to see you try." Zelda narrowed her eyes and lunged at him, Link jumped away.

"Just hold still!" Zelda snapped as she lunged towards the arrow again.

"No! Not until you take it easy!" Link replied as he ducked to avoid her arm grabbing for the arrow.

"Just hold-" Zelda broke off as Link caught her arm in mid lunge, their faces centimeters away. "…Still."

The two stared in each other's eyes, completely forgetting about the arrow still sticking out of Link's shoulder.

Then, Link leaned closer, and Zelda's eyes widened. He was going to kiss her!

"Ehem." Blushing, Link and Zelda jumped apart, turning to see a very amused Sheik sitting twenty feet away, a purple flower with blue thorns sitting at his feet.

Both Link and Zelda's faces turned bright red as they jumped away from each other. Sheik snickered.

"I didn't know you had it in you Link. If you wanted to be alone that bad, you know all you had to do was ask." Link turned, if possible, even redder.

"It's not like that! The princess here was just-"

"Yeah yeah, sure." Sheik interrupted, picking up the flower and dropping it at Zelda's feet.

"There's your flower princess. It is purple and blue, right?" Zelda nodded, then glanced at Link.

"Now if you will just hold still…" She reached for the arrow, but Link jumped away, glaring at her.

"Oh no, you'll yank it. I'll do it myself." And to Sheik and Zelda's amazement, he did. Reaching over his shoulder and pulling the arrow out as if it were a thorn. Zelda visibly flinched as blood began to trickle out of the wound.

"A-At least let me bandage that." She said, stuttering slightly. Link nodded, sitting back on the rock, the arrow in his hands. Zelda walked towards him, ripping a piece of her dress as she did so, ignoring the surprised gasp from Sheik as she tied the cloth around Link's shoulder.

"There, good as new, now shall we continue?"

THUD! Apparently the stress was a bit too much for Sheik to handle. Link stood up, pulling his tunic back over his head, and picked Sheik up. Letting his body rest on his shoulder.

Eventually, Sheik woke up from his earlier scare, and as their journey continued, he failed to notice the small signs of affection between Link and Zelda. The slight touch of hand, the occasional smile, the affectionate teasing, the light that shone in their eyes at the sight of each other. The kiss on the cheek when Link saved Zelda from a giant bolder about to crush her. The way Link showed Zelda the hibiscus flower, a flower that only opens at night or when you run your fingers up the stem. (Yeah yea, I don't wanna hear it, I know what a hibiscus flower is)

After a bit of traveling, Link led his two companions up a hill. Where, when they reached the top, they could see Hyrule castle looming in the distance.

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**Hehe! Everytime I read the part about Mido I start cracking up! I love it**

**BTW, the chapter was posted at exactly 12:00 Midnight! Yay!**

**Please Review!**

**Anime Wildfire**

**P.S. For those of you who are wondering, the dragon is NOT Volvagia. Guess again! Here's a hint- in the the legend of Zelda, the character is a Hylian.**


	6. A man 'short' of stature

**I am soo sorry for the long wait on this chapter. Last night I finally forced myself to sit down and type this. I actually have most of the next chapter done too, so it won't be long till till the next one's up.**

**Wow! All you reviewers are so awesome out there! Link's Hardships has over 15,000 hits! As well as 228 reviews, 44 favorites and 49 alerts! Thank you all so much!**

**Also, I was wondering if anyone would be intersting in helping me with one or two of my stories. I mostly need some idea help, but I would like it if someone would read the chapters before I post them and tell me what they think, wheither they like or dislike and so one. I especially need this help with Impossible Miracle.**

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"Is that-" Zelda started, Link nodded. Tearing his gaze away from the castle and heading down the long hill in front of him, suddenly feeling depressed.

Zelda and Sheik glanced at each other before running after him, jogging to keep up with his fast pace.

"You know it's starting to get late… maybe we should camp for the night." Zelda suggested innocently. Sheik glanced at Zelda.

"Why? The castle's right there- Ow!" He was cut off as Zelda stepped on his paw, smiling sweetly while Sheik whimpered in pain and glared at her.

Link turned to face them, completely oblivious as to what just happened. "Sheik's right, there's really no need to make camp, the castle is only an hour or two's walk from here." Zelda glanced down at Sheik.

"I know, but I'm… I'm worried about Sheik! He doesn't look so good." Link looked confused, as did Sheik. "What are you talking about? I feel fine." Zelda knelt down.

"That's what they always say, but then look what happens." Sheik still didn't look convinced. Zelda rolled her eyes. "You die."

Sheik's eyes widened, "I don't wanna die!" Zelda stood up, her hands on her hips. "Didn't you say your paw was hurting earlier?"

"Well actually you-" He was cut off by Zelda,  
"Well did you?" Sheik nodded, "actually, my paw has been hurting…" Zelda turned to Link.

"See? He's not well at all." Link's face was a mixture of confused and disbelieving. He shrugged.

"Alright, you win princess. We'll make camp. I'll go catch us some dinner." He headed towards the woods.

"I'll fetch the firewood." Zelda offered, following him. Sheik sat there, watching them go.

"Why do I get the feeling I've just been used?"

-0-

Half an hour later, the trio had a fire and dinner going.

"So what is this again?" Zelda asked, taking a bite of the meat in her hands.

"Cucco meat, roasted style." Link said, taking a bite of his own meat. Zelda nodded.

"No kidding, well this is great." Link blushed slightly. "Thanks. They also make good soup. Cucco soup is probably one of the few meals I can cook. I'm not that great of a chief."

Zelda giggled, and the three were quiet for a minute until Zelda spoke.

"Have you ever considered leaving Hyrule?" Link shook his head.

"No, I was born and raised in Hyrule. I may be the last Hylian in Hyrule, but I don't ever plan on leaving."

Zelda's heart felt warm at his words. She took another bite of her cucco. "Why not?"

"Well, like I said before, I was born and raised in Hyrule. It's all I've ever known my whole life. I know my way around Hyrule better than anyone." Zelda smiled.

"Sounds wonderful, being so free… able to go and do whatever you want…" she trailed off, smiling.

"Yeah, I suppose." Link muttered, Zelda turned to stare at him.

"What do you mean?" she asked. Link shrugged. "It's not really as great as you think it is." Zelda frowned. "I don't understand." Link sighed.

"I've been alone my whole life. I'm the only Hylian in Hyrule, and humans are too afraid of me to try and come near me. And when they gather up the courage to do so, it's only to try and kill me." He glanced at Zelda.

"You're the first human I've ever had a friendly conversation with." Zelda gasped,

"That's awful! Always being hunted… I can't imagine living like that." She sighed, "But I do understand what it's like to be alone." Link glanced at her, Zelda continued.

"I've been locked away in that tower since I was 13. My parents told me that when I was old enough my prince would come and rescue me from the tower, and I've been in there ever since." Zelda sighed.

"It's not a life I would ever wish on someone else." Link nodded. "Yeah,"

The two sat in silence for a moment, each thinking of their own past. Zelda glanced at Link, a frown on her face.

"Hey Link? What will you do after… you know, you take me to the castle." Link shrugged.

"Go back home I suppose, go back to living the way I always have." Zelda smiled softly.

"I'll miss you." Link's eyes widened, and he glanced at Zelda. "You'll miss me?" Zelda nodded.

"Maybe… I can come visit you sometime?" Link nodded. "Sure, It'll be nice to have someone come see me once and a while. I'll miss you too." Subconsciously, the two were leaning closer, as if some kind of force was pulling them together. Or maybe it was just destiny… (Or it could be the authoress…)

"Isn't that sunset beautiful?" Link and Zelda both jumped, pulling back. Zelda jumped to her feet.

"Sunset! Oh no," Link stood up quickly. "Is something wrong?" Zelda shook her head.

"No no, I mean, it's really late, I should be turning in." Sheik's eyes narrowed. "I see what's going on here." Zelda's eyes widened.

"You're afraid of the dark!" Sheik said, Zelda nodded.

"Yes, that's it. I'm terrified. You know I'd better go inside." She turned and started walking towards the small rundown windmill sitting at the top of the hill.

"Goodnight." Zelda turned to see Link standing behind her, and for the first time, Zelda saw his blue eyes were filled with life. She smiled, then ran over and threw her arms around him in a hug.

"Good night," she whispered, kissing him on the cheek. Link just hugged Zelda back, a small smiled on his face. Zelda finally pulled away and smiled before jogging towards the windmill, waving before she disappeared inside. Sheik glanced between the windmill and Link, a grin on his face.

"Now I really see what's going on here." He said, Link blushed, turning back towards the fire.

"I don't know what you're talking about, she and I are just friends. Besides, she's marrying Ganondorf." Sheik rolled his eyes.

"Sure… Whatever you say Link…" Link glared at Sheik before stomping off towards the woods.

"Hey, where you going?" Sheik asked. Link hesitated.

"To get… more firewood." He finally said, continuing towards the woods. Sheik glanced over towards the fire, where a neat pile of wood sat waiting to be burned.

"More firewood my butt…" he muttered.

-0-

Sheik pushed the door of the windmill open slowly, peering into its dark depths.

"Princess?" he said quietly, creeping inside.

"Princess Zelda… where are you….?" He crept closer, oblivious to the shadow that was tiptoeing quietly above him.

"Princess… it's very spooky in here I don't wanna to play games…"

"Ahh!" The floorboards above Sheik collapsed, sending the shadow sprawling on the floor next to him.

"Ow…" the figure slowly stood up, revealing a very Hylian princess Zelda.

"Ahhhhhhh!!!" Sheik began shouting at the top of his lungs. "Liiiiiink!! Help!!!"

"Shhh!" Zelda held a figure to her lips, glancing franticly towards the door. "Shh Sheik it's me!" Sheik wasn't paying much attention.

"Link! Link!!!!!" Zelda took hold of Sheik by the muzzle and clamped his mouth shut, frequently throwing worried glances towards the door.

"Sheik it's me! Princess Zelda, in this body. It's really me." Sheik began to calm down as Zelda gently rubbed his ears and stroked his muzzle.

"Princess? What happened to you? You look different." Zelda sighed, letting go of Sheik.

"I know I know." She said, sitting on one of the crates next to them.

"Was it something you ate? Cause' I told Link those Cuccos were a bad idea 'you are what you eat' I said." Sheik said as he sat next to Zelda. She shook her head.

"No! I've been this way since I was very little. I don't ever remember not being like this." Sheik looked confused.

"What are you talking about? I've never seen you like this before." Zelda sighed.

"It only happens when the sun goes down." She glanced out the window, where the sun was just disappearing.

"By night one way, by day another, this is how it shall be, until you receive true love's first kiss, then take love's true form." (A/N, sorry if this is a bit off. I couldn't remember how it goes and I can't find our movie anywhere)

"Wow, I didn't know you were a poet Zelda." Sheik said, Zelda rolled her eyes. "It's a spell. When I was very little, a sage cast a spell on me. Every night I turn into this. A creature despised by my own people!" Zelda sat on a box.

"I was placed in a tower to await the day my true love would rescue me. That's why I have to marry Ganondorf tomorrow before the sun goes down and he sees me." Sheik leapt up next to her and watched her sympathetically.

"Oh come on Zelda, its not all that bad. You're only like this at night, Link's Hylian 24-7."

"But Sheik, I'm a princess, and a princess is not suppost to be hated by her people!" Zelda buried her face in her hands and started to cry.

"Princess, maybe you shouldn't marry Ganondorf."

"I have to," Zelda said, lifting her head and pushing back a lock of her hair.

"Only my true love's kiss can break the spell." Sheik looked thoughtful.

"You know… you're kind of a Hylian, an Link, well you two are a lot alike.

"Link?" Zelda said.

-0-

Meanwhile, outside…

"Princess… I, uh. Well, how are you first of all? Good? Um, good for me two. I'm fine." Link stood outside the windmill, holding a sunflower in his hands.

"I saw this flower and thought of you because it's pretty, and well, I'm not a big flower fan, but I though you might like it because your pretty. But I think you're beautiful anyway, I- uh." Link paused, running his fingers through his hair. He sighed.

"I'm doomed." He stood up a bit straighter. "Here I go." He walked up the steps and raised his fist to knock, pausing when he heard Zelda's voice.

"-Who could ever learn to love a Hylian? 'Princess' and 'Hylian' don't go well together. That's why I can't stay with Link. My only chance to live happily is to marry my true love."

Link's face fell, he leaned against the door, glancing at the flower.

"-Can't you see Sheik? This is how it has to be." Link threw the flower down and stomped down the steps.

"-It's the only way to break the spell."

"You have to at least tell Link the truth." Sheik jumped off the barrels as he said, this. Zelda jumped to her feet.

"No! You can't say anything! No one can ever know!" Sheik stomped his foot.

"What's good about being able to talk if you have to keep secrets?"

"Promise me you won't tell. Promise me!" Zelda said frantically, Sheik sighed.

"All right all right I won't say anything. But you should." He headed for the door as he said this.

"I'm gonna need some serious therapy after this. See my eye twitching?" Zelda poked her head out of the door after him, glancing down and seeing the flower in front of the door. She glanced around, but didn't see anyone. So she took the flower inside with her and closed the door. Sheik settled himself in the grass and fell asleep.

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**I apologize for how short this chapter is, but combining it with the next chapter made it too long, so I split em' up. Thank you all for your wonderful reviews!**

**Anime Wildfire**

**P.S. I am officially 17! Yay!**


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